Roll Up! Roll Up! Circus Automata Is In Town

There has been quite a buzz around Arts Centre Melbourne this week with the arrival of Circus Automata, a mechanical coin-operated diorama created by Melbourne artist Mark Ogge. The diorama is the culmination of Ogge’s lifelong fascination with set painting, circus, vaudeville, commedia dell’arte, Weimar cabaret, Renaissance painting, automata, 18th century miniature paper theatres and Daguerre’s popular diorama theatres of early 19th century Paris. Ogge has also drawn inspiration from historical circus and performance photographs held in Arts Centre Melbourne’s Performing Arts Collection which he has studied over many years.

Within the diorama’s proscenium arch a fanciful world of some twenty-three characters including a strongman, acrobats, a human cannonball and a whimsical donkey unicorn come to life. Each figure is powered by a tiny motor and is accompanied by its own sound effect and choreography.

Photograph by Mark Ogge

Ogge’s circus-inspired paintings and installations have been drawing gasps from audiences around the world since the early 2000s. In 2001 he designed and painted an elaborate new façade for the much-loved Famous Spiegeltent and for ten years Melbournians have watched it magically appear and disappear from the Arts Centre Melbourne’s forecourt.

Since 2006 Ogge has been the official artist of Speigelworld, an Australian-led immersive entertainment experience based in New York. Under the patronage of Australian impresario Ross Mollison, Ogge has created a series of works designed to celebrate the opening of each new Spiegelworld show. Artworks have included a monumental archway for Spiegelworld’s New York base and this three-dimensional mechanical diorama created for the opening Absinthe in 2015.

Circus Automata, accompanied by its original artwork, will be on display in Smorgon Family Plaza, Arts Centre Melbourne until 20 March 2016.

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Performing Arts Collection

Arts Centre Melbourne's Performing Arts Collection is the national leader among specialist performing arts collections in Australia. Established in 1975, it is formally recognised as a State collection and encompasses the history of circus, dance, music, opera and theatre. The Collection features over 640,000 items including costumes, designs, photographs, set models, puppets, props, posters, programs and archives.
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Who We Are

Arts Centre Melbourne is the proud custodian of Australia's leading Performing Arts Collection.

"Not some boring, dry, museum; but a living, growing entertainment for the whole family. The Performing Arts Collection is a treasure trove of the Australian performing arts." - Barry Humphries, Patron.

Established in 1975, it encompasses the history of circus, dance, music, opera and theatre. The Collection now holds over 640,000 items including costumes, designs, photographs, set models, puppets, props, posters, programs and archives.